EDITORIAL

Editorial Cartoon.

Maybe Botswana can lend Tanzania a page on this.

Tanzania's mining industry is envisaged to double in value of the sector to $1.28bn from $0.64bn between 2010 and 2015.
A study by Business Monitor International (BMI) two years ago forecasted the average annual growth in the sector of 7.7 per cent between 2011 and 2015.
Being. Full Story

How prepared we are for Olympics?

Not more than a year before the Olympic Games get underway in Rio de Janeiro as the rest of the world build up teams to gear up for the event.
It has been a tradition for Tanzania to be represented by minority games in the likes of athletics, boxing, ping pong, swimming as. Full Story

Confusing reports have been aired from time to time with regards to graduates from local universities, and increasingly the same is being heard as to graduates of East African universities generally, that they are half baked for the labour market.

Much has been said against the use of Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) system in the forthcoming general elections but with counter arguments from the government and the National Electoral Commission (NEC) itself.

The recent disclosure by the police force that posts in areas that are relatively insecure should operate only during the day time leaving people around them to care for themselves at night is a very disappointing undertaking.

On being employed for the first time, especially in the civil service and any public entity, one of the conditions for a worker is to work anywhere and at any time if required to do so by his/her boss.

We are more than elated to learn that Tanzania is on the right economic track to achieve middle income status by 2025.
The news from none other than the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) Governor, Prof Benno Ndulu, himself comes against the backdrop of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growing at the average of seven per cent each year for the past two years.

As the return legs of both CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup is just around the corner, we wish the two Mainland Tanzania teams, Yanga and Azam the best of luck to advance into the next round.

Disqueting reports reaching various media in the city of Dar es Salaam have lately revealed a scaring episode involving the leader of former servicemen who passed through National Service and have been pressing the government for jobs.

President Jakaya Kikwete has lately changed the district commissioners line up, with changes in up to 45 slots of DCs by new appointments and ending certain others.
One name that has crept up in discussion and scores of newspaper headlines is Paul Makonda, an irreverent youth leader in the ruling party who has been given the post of DC for Kinondoni district in the city of Dar es Salaam.

Several years ago the government established what it called ‘special schools’ for bright students who were enrolled to pursue secondary school education. Such were Mzumbe in Morogoro, Ilboru in Arusha, Mirambo in Tabora and Msalato in Dodoma, to name but a few.

Last week in this paper we published an article about engaging new partners in HIV/Aids prevention, care, treatment and stigma-reduction efforts to strengthen collective determined attempts in the fight against the scourge.

The standard of soccer in Tanzania has kept nose-diving in recent years, the impact manifesting itself in several aspects closely related to the game.
Inadequate and insufficient infrastructure is among the factors that have impeded efforts to turn things around.

On Friday a video clip was uploaded on a website by unknown individuals showing a guy disguised in black jacket and sun glasses, bragging to have either engineered or carried out attacks in some parts of the country, killing police officers and getting away with firearms.

Political parties are speaking more or less as one body on the likely defects of holding a constitutional referendum and then the general elections using the biometric voter registration (BVR) mechanism, with no one being confident of a flawless process.

The nation has in the past week been rocked by tragic fires a girls hostel went ablaze in Iringa, a market burnt down in Arusha and only last week, a house fire claimed an entire family of six in Dar es Salaam.

It is high time that the government embarked on a comprehensive survey of Tanzania's labour force. Labour surveys have important objectives of guiding human resources; planning, training and development, deployment and even issuing of work permits.

The news we carried in yesterday’s issue of this paper about Tanzanians being among top Swiss bank account holders is not surprising to many people in the know. This is simply because we have been hearing about it for quite a while now.

The establishment of academies meant to groom sports talent, particularly in soccer, has slowly but surely gained popularity in Tanzania in recent years.
Most recently, from virtual obscurity, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has come up a broad-minded approach seeking to boost the standard of our soccer.

Tanzanian tour operators say that the Kenyan ban of our vehicles, which has been lifted if temporarily to pave way for ministerial consultations on the issue, is a wakeup call to Tanzania to improve and market its airports.

Members of Parliament (MPs) blasted the government on Thursday for contributing to the decline of the quality of education in the country as they were deliberating on a report presented by the Standing Committee on Social Services.

Today is the International Day for Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation. It is a United Nations campaign held on every February 6 to stop genital mutilation on girls and women since the UN first officially commemorated it in 2003.

Tanzania’s Ocean Road Cancer Institute (ORCI) is the only specialist cancer treatment centre in the country at the moment.
Nearly 4,000 new patients go there every year and is desperately trying to cope with the influx of patients in need of treatment.

Land is perhaps the most vital asset for one to possess in this country and elsewhere, for a lot of investments depend on its availability.
For instance, for a village to build school, health centre or any structure, it has to find a plot where to construct it.

Cotton remains the country's largest forex earner after coffee and therefore it is no wonder that the country through the Tanzania Cotton Board (TCB), last year awarded a seven-year exclusive contract to Quton Tanzania Limited to develop a certified multiplication scheme of local varieties of cotton produced by government research institutes.

Reports from the meeting of Heads of State of the African Union at its Addis Ababa seat have indicated that there is a concerted effort to bring together a united force from among member countries, especially Nigeria and its immediate neighbours to confront the ravaging forces of the Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram.

Elsewhere in the world, particularly in developed countries couples (expectant mothers and the fathers-to-be) attend prenatal clinic sessions to learn the basics of delivery and early childhood, what to expect and how to respond.

A public notice by the Dar es Salaam-based Institute of Finance Management now running in a section of the Tanzanian media talks of plans which, if implemented as fully as intended, should make a world of difference in the way the country’s public service operates.

That climate change has affected many parts of the world is undisputable, and Tanzania is not an exception.
For, largely because of climate change there has been less rain which has mostly been unpredictable.

Research conducted by this paper on Wednesday on the way health services are dispensed at the Dodoma Referral Hospital has revealed astonishing outcomes.
It has been established that nurses in the regional health facility have the tendency to solicit bribes from patients coming for services.

It has been over a decade now since Tanzanian clubs made strong impression in the Confederation of African Football leagues.
Two of our representatives in the continental championships, the Champions League and Confederation Cup, Azam FC and Young Africans, respectively are lined up for the preliminary rounds mid next month.

There is every indicator that the referendum process set for April 30 this year will not meet the required standards and possibly it won’t amuse development partners who have been financially supporting this county.

South Sudan - the youngest nation in Africa - took a big step towards peace and national reconciliation on Wednesday by signing a peace accord that is intended to end hostilities between the warring factions of a hitherto united nationalist movement in the oil rich state.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) continues unabated in Tanzania. It is time now the Parliament enacted a law making the practice illegal. The ritual, normally held in many regions in the country, Mara Region , in particular, involves cutting off of a girl's clitoris as a rite of passage.

It is estimated that Tanzania’s population was 50,757,459 by October last year. Of this figure women are a bit more than their male counterparts.
Yet when young people as a whole are taken into account their number and that of women make a very important segment of the Tanzania population.

As Tanzania strives for economic recovery, a key focus area must be a transformation of the manufacturing sector. Innumerable and diverse measures and actions are a prerequisite for any substantive economic recovery, policies in respect of the agricultural, mining, commercial, tourism, financial and services sectors.

If Tanzania’s long-running failure to win a FIFA World Cup berth has been solely due to financial constraints, this time the hurdle has been cleared.
Should the recent FIFA donation to the tune of over 1.

For years now Dar es Salaam region and its environs has been facing acute shortage of water with no end in sight despite numerous promises by the government.
The government has at different occasions bragged that come 2015 water shortage in Dar es Salaam city and its surroundings will be history, thanks to multiple water projects the government promised that it would implement.

A new education policy is around the corner. On Wednesday the government announced the introduction of a new education policy after years of sifting and sorting on matters concerning suitable education policy for Tanzania.

If ever there was a time when Tanzanians needed peace and harmony most, this year is it. This is because the country is expected to hold yet another General Election – in October – in circumstances that are unique in more senses than one.

Meat retail business in some parts of Tanzania is experiencing a number of challenges, with both butchers and consumers expressing dissatisfaction with the way things are going.
For instance, some meat consumers in Dar es Salaam believe they are systematically cheated by butchers through the use of rigged weighing scales, paying the price of a kilogramme of meat but ending up being ripped off as they walk home with a lighter “load”.

Intermittent feelings that local governments (specifically the Prime Minister’s Office Regional Administration and Local Governments) are not the right public agencies to oversee the welfare of teachers and the profession as a whole in the country were beefed up in an auspicious event on Friday.

More than 200 farmers in Gairo District, Morogoro Region are reportedly up in arms against National Food Reserve Agency which has yet to pay them for the maize they have sold.
The farmers are threatening to take the law into their hands by breaking the maize warehouse and taking back their maize if their money is not paid timely.

For years, malnutrition among children under five years of age has been rampant in many parts of Tanzania, especially in low and medium income families and mostly in rural areas despite efforts by key players including the government through the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare as well as Non-Governmental Organisations.

On Sunday Water deputy minister Amos Makalla ordered the transfer of two Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Corporation (DAWASCO) sub-division managers with immediate effect over allegations of abuse of office and embezzlement of public funds.

Various neighbourhoods in the city of Dar es Salaam, those fairly close to the central business districts, were victims of a massive rampage of the ‘panya road’ marauders, a loose brotherhood of petty criminals who find unity in strength, wielding machetes and terrorizing whole streets.

Positive reports have been gleaned from interim reports of the National Elections Commission (NEC) on the manner in which it is gearing up for nationwide biometric voter registration, with a rather congested voting calendar this year.

The order by Transport Minister Dr Harrison Mwakyembe on Tuesday to arrest six Tanzania Railway Limited (TRL) ticket examiners over fraud allegations is a laudable move but has also to snoop on its leadership who the ordinary workers have alleged are also involved in sabotaging the coffers of the railway firm.

We have just entered a new year, 2015, and it is understandable if we should be anxious – or eager – to see what is in store for us in our individual capacities as well as for our families, immediate communities, nation and the larger world.

Marine transport is a major means of travel for millions of people living in, or moving around, the Lake Victoria zone regions.
Most have for decades heavily depended on MV Victoria, a Tanzanian passenger ship that also used to call at Kenyan and Ugandan ports in the heyday of the first-phase East African Community that collapsed in 1977.

In November and December Tanzania normally experiences short rains, with the long and much heavier ones falling from around March. However, owing in part to climatic changes, there were little rains last month in some parts of the country.

As the world bids the 2014 sporting year farewell, sports enthusiasts must critically reflect on what was largely a season with more disappointments than achievements.
Arguably the biggest disappointment Tanzania witnessed is the failure to win medals in the Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow, Scotland, from July 23 to August 3.

Twin features in rising cash crimes in the country call for thought, and no authorities have any ready answers for the malady, first being false cards inserted into automatic teller machines (ATM) and defrauding clients, and finally banks which have to reimburse the stolen cash, of millions of shillings virtually each passing day.

Religious leaders on Thursday came out in unison calling upon authorities to throw their weight into fully waging war against corruption.
As they delivered Christmas sermons to their congregations the clerics called on President Jakaya Kikwete to be ‘bolder’ and observe the law in dealing with officials bent on violating leadership ethics.

The festive season has just set in, yet again, and it is everybody’s wish and prayer that it will be without event and all of us will usher in the New Year in one piece.
Whatever we do or plan to do during the period, we must what most we can to uphold the spirit of peace, solidarity and kindness and therefore enter the New Year with a positive attitude.

Christmas Day is here yet again - and it will be prayers for peace and love followed mostly by family reunions in many parts of the world.
New decorations will emerge in urban streets and many houses will be adorned festive lights to match, as children eagerly wait for presents from their parents and other loved ones.

President Jakaya Kikwete on Monday gave his eagerly awaited stand on the Tegeta escrow account scandal that saw the misappropriation of billions of shillings involving, among others, high-ranking public officials who either personally benefited through hefty payments or facilitated the dubious transactions.

Whenever there are scandals such as misappropriation of public funds, poor performance by state-run institutions or mishandling of development projects, there are always calls for accountability by leaders.

Efforts by the Boxing Federation of Tanzania (BFT) to develop amateur boxing received a momentous boost early this week when a mobile telephone company handed over to the body a well-equipped modern boxing ring.

Many African countries have in the past year been celebrating surreptitious economic growth in their statistical reference manuals and official economic propaganda after rebasing that is, adopting a more recent base year in projecting and evaluating growth presently and recently.

Last Sunday eligible Tanzanian voters took part in local government elections to elect civic leaders, close to ten months before the general elections slated for this coming year.
They were elections that everyone thought would be smoothly held, considering the fact that it has been known for several months that the polls would be held this month.

For a country to have abundant reserves of oil but run without big enough numbers of the right personnel to serve the industry would be, at best, terribly risky.
Earlier this week the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) proudly announced, perhaps understandably, that the country is likely to stumble on abundant oil reserves soon following completion of the first stage of the survey in Lake Tanganyika waters.

Only years ago, Tanzania was critically short of public secondary schools. In fact, in some districts in upcountry regions there were no more than two secondary schools.
In most of these schools there was a serious shortage of teachers as well as basic needs such as classrooms, equipment and facilities like science laboratories, lab apparatus and libraries adequately stocked with the relevant books and other publications or material.

It is undisputable that in democratic states, elections are the core ingredients of their existence, unlike in countries following the autocratic rule.
Tanzania, that before independence followed the colonial British type of multi-party democracy, adopted single party rule for decades since independence in 1961.

Darts is one of sports disciplines that have lately made encouraging progress, thanks to stakeholders’ diligence in promoting it.
The game’s followers have been busy soliciting support to ensure competitions were organised on regular basis both at the club and national levels, and the efforts are slowly but surely paying off.

Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Said Meck Sadick has directed the three municipal councils, and especially Ilala municipality which has overall control of the city centre, to cease operations of three auction marts.

Tanzanians woke up to what can be described as a shocking news yesterday following reports that the US government put on hold the signing of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact with Dar es Salaam pending government’s response on the Tegeta escrow scandal.

Democracy, according to Abraham Lincoln, is government of the people, by the people, for the people. And one of its important tenets is the election, meaning that a country’s rulers have to get the legitimacy of ruling the people through an election.

The festive season is fast approaching, and people across the globe are looking forward to celebrating Christmas and the New Year.
This is also the time Tanzanians have just marked 53 years of Tanganyika’s independence, when the last governor of what is now mainland Tanzania handed over the reins of power to Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere.

A national policy framework was proposed some years ago, with a view to enhancing social security systems and safeguarding children, people with disabilities and people belonging to other vulnerable groups.

Anyone believing that Tanzania has not made any meaningful economic strides since Tanganyika’s Independence in 1961 is neither fair nor honest. Similarly, anyone giving the country a 100 per cent pass mark on that score is not being realistic.

An important step towards the promotion of soccer in Tanzania will be witnessed in Mwanza on December 30, with the kicking off of the inaugural national Under-12 soccer tournament.
The event, which is organised by Tanzania Football Federation (TFF), is meant to help promote soccer talent right from the grassroots across the country and will involve all regions.

Next Sunday Tanzanians who are eligible to vote are going to polling stations to elect their local leaders who will lead them for the next five years.
Local polls are essential for the country given the fact that development programmes are basically implemented at grassroots level in coordination with these local leaders, being replaced and renewed next Sunday.

Plenty of debate is expected not just in Kenya and East Africa but among stakeholders of the International Criminal Court on the freeing from ICC tentacles of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, facing charges of crimes against humanity in relation to the violence following the disputes election results for the presidency, as President Mwai Kibaki was seeking a second term late 2007.

With post harvest losses claiming over 40 per cent of Tanzania’s annual national production of cereals and the fact that the national food reserve stores are currently saturated, the launching of a project to test three innovative storage technologies to help the county’s smallholder farmers reduce post-harvest losses is very much welcome.

Events happening in the cotton producing areas of the Lake Victoria zone show more work is need to be done to instill production stability in this crucial sector.
Private efforts alone – that have of late involved contract farming and buying agencies which peg supper profit at the end of their businesses will not in any way help stabilise this sector.

As the world marks the World AIDS Day (Dec1) it is heart wrenching to learn that pregnant women living with HIV/AIDS are less likely to get treatment care than other adults.
The report from Amref Health Africa-Tanzania also says treatment coverage among children living with HIV in 2012 was less than half that of adults.

Tanzania’s Under-19 women cricketers will have the chance to defend the country’s pride when they feature in this year’s Africa Cricket Association (ACA) U-19 Trophy tournament in Dar es Salaam later this week.

Tanzania is currently passing through a bumpy stretch when it comes to issues of good governance and public accountability.
It is during this period when development partners have made a firm stand that they will not release over Sh900 billion meant to support the country’s 2014/15 budget until the government ‘clears the air’ with regard to the withdrawal of Sh320 billion from the Tegeta Escrow account that was being administered by the Bank of Tanzania.

The argument put forward by the Deputy Minister of State in the Vice President’s Office, Ummy Mwalimu in Parliament this week to the effect that more than 1.8 billion trees have been planted in the past 16 years and therefore deserves merit is to say the least unimpressive.

After a long slumber, the Association of Local Authorities of Tanzania (ALAT), has this week come up with a big surprise for urban residents across the country.
In a statement issued by its chairman, Dr Didas Masaburi, the association said it plans to introduce mayoral competition awards for its city and municipal heads.

Last week we published in one of our editions a sad story about the Tanga Economic Corridor Limited project which some of its investors say they cannot see light at the end of the tunnel while its construction period is almost coming to an end.

Half a century down the road and a survey shows the curse of the nation still remains, poverty, ignorance and disease, in that order.
When the founding father proclaimed the plight over 50 years ago, the nation was at the infancy of independence, still shaking off the colonial socio-development shackles but even today, when it comes to poverty, the average living standards of a Tanzanian, measured in terms of food shelter and clothing, leaves much to be desired.

Volleyball lovers in Tanzania have every reason to applaud efforts by the Tanzania Amateur Volleyball Association (Tava) to revive the sport.\
The most noticeable effort is that of establishing a grassroots development programme in schools, under which the association has been organising national Level One volleyball coaching courses to primary and secondary schools teachers, who are then tasked with training youngsters in their respective schools.

Top level appeals for increased efficiency in revenue collection on the basis of synchronizing and harmonizing the numerous taxes levied on taxpayers, so as to promote compliance in most quarters have lately been heard.

Parliament is trying to strike a balance between government accountability and independence of the judiciary, in case that will provide further clarification as to how the constitution operates, ahead of ratification of the new constitution expected for the second quarter of next year.

Emergency response service for the people has largely remained an ideology in the policy makers’ documents shelved away in some government office.
On the ground, should one fell sick in the dead of the night or burglars broke into someone’s house, who would you call? What mandate do they have and how fast would they respond?
Would you call the hospital and the police? For most Tanzanians, one would wake up to the rude realisation that, most public hospitals do not have medicines at the moment or beds, let alone the capacity to send out an ambulance to a slum area.